A proper diet is a contributing factor in maintaining healthy skin. There are a variety of known dietary supplements which can affect human skin conditions. (International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook, 2004; and U.S. Pharmacopoeia Dietary Supplement Monographs).
In my previous patent application (Chomczynski, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/925,851, filed Aug. 25, 2004) we disclosed that oral administration of tomato products can be beneficial for maintaining healthy skin and for treatment of skin conditions, when used in conjunction with a topical treatment including cyclohexanol derivatives. It was disclosed further that an active component(s) of tomato is associated with a water insoluble tomato residue. The water insoluble tomato residue is mainly composed of plant polysaccharides forming a matrix inter-spaced with water insoluble tomato components, most notably carotenoids. There are several carotenoids which have been identified (Khachik et al., 2002) in tomato (lycopersicum esculantum and its wild variety). The most characteristic carotenoid found in tomato is lycopene. Lycopene is present in high concentration in ripe tomato fruits and also in watermelons, pink grapefruits, pink guavas and papayas.
Known beneficial health effects of lycopene include: reducing risk of cancer (such as prostate cancer), and protecting tissues from oxidative damage especially protecting proper function of the human eye (Khachik et al, 2002). Lycopene has been used in cosmetic compositions and oral supplements in humans (www.lycopene.org).
Lycopene has also been used as a part of cosmetic and medical compositions to improve skin health. In cosmetic compositions, Berens et al. (U.S. Published Patent Application 2004/0170585, published Sep. 2, 2004, par. 19) used lycopene as an antioxidant in the treatment of skin pigment disorders. Cochran describes compositions for providing nutrients and regulatory components to the human body; those compositions include lycopene as an antioxidant (U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,846, Cochran, issued Apr. 11, 2000).
Gupta, in U.S. Published Patent Application 2004/0161435, published Aug. 19, 2004, discloses topical treatment of skin aging promoting collagen and elastin in the skin by a treatment with a composition including lycopene.
Lycopene is included in topical compositions to treat human skin to affect tanning activity (WO 97/47278) and for treatment of the scalp and/or acne affecting 5 alpha-reductase activity (JP-2940964).
Popp et al, describes a dietary supplement composition for promoting healthy skin with lycopene as a part of composition containing other necessary ingredients such as vitamins, microelements and other chemically defined components (U.S. Pat. No. 6,630,158, issued Oct. 7, 2003). The supplement is provided in the form of a tablet, powder, capsule, wafer, liquid or liquid filled capsule.
Gorsek describes treatment of age-related eye ailments with an orally ingested composition including lycopene (U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,756, issued Aug. 15, 2000).
Lorant et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,623,769, issued Sep. 23, 2003) uses lycopene in the form of a suspension or solution for oral administration and for topical application to improve cutaneous skin aging.
Adsorption by humans of lycopene from dietary sources can be as low as 2.5% (Tyssandier et al., 2003). Heating and processing tomatoes into tomato paste increases bioavailability of lycopene (Hof, 2000). Also, presence of oil increases bioavailability of lycopene (Deming, 1999, p. 2216).
Plant fiber can be used as a dietary supplement to obtain a beneficial effect on bowel health (U.S. Pat. No. 6,753,019, Lang et al., issued Jun. 22, 2004). The fiber described in the '019 patent includes water-extracted tomato fiber. The extracting fluid is most preferably water, but organic solvents such as chloroform and hexane can also be used for the extraction (p. 6). Since lycopene is soluble in both chloroform and hexane, the benefit of the fiber composition described in the '019 patent does not appear to be related to lycopene. In addition, it is indicated that the extracted material was not treated with either acid or alkali (claim 14).
Schmoutz et al (U.S. Pat. No. 6,713,100, issued Mar. 30, 2004) describes confectionary products comprising at least 25% fat, 6% to 15% sugar, and at least 15% vegetable solids. The vegetable solids can include tomato solids (claim 6).
In addition to lycopene, various antioxidants were used as an adjunct part of dietary supplement to improve skin conditions (International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook, 2004; and U.S. Pharmacopoeia Dietary Supplement Monographs, Vaya J, 1).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,517 (Murad, issued Oct. 5, 1999) describes pharmaceutical compositions and methods for treating acne based on the use of zinc and vitamin A. These compositions comprise, as an adjunct ingredient, vitamin C, and can be administered topically or orally.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,235,721 (Ghosal, issued May 22, 2001) describes a stabilized antioxidant formulation comprising vitamin C supplemented with 0-5% gallic acid. The role of gallic acid in the invention is to stabilize and prevent oxidation of vitamin C.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,869,974 B1 (Del Soldato, issued Mar. 22, 2005) describes the use of certain pharmaceutical compounds to address the oxidative stress in pathological situations, including acne. The described compounds are synthetic multi-component molecules with precursor subcomponents comprising gallate and ascorbate moieties.
Gallic acid (trihydroxy benzoic acid), a potent antioxidant, is described as an anti-mutagenic, anti-carcinogenic and anti-inflammatory agent (Shahrzad, 2001). High concentration of gallic acid, either as single molecule or as a building block of polyphenols, are found in tea, wine (Singleton, Adv Dietary Res, 1981, 27, 149-242) and cocoa (Lee, 2003).
In addition, U.S. Published Patent Application 2004/0152760 A1 (Castillo et al., published Aug. 5, 2004) describes the use of polyhydroxylated compounds and compositions for the treatment of amyloidosis, especially Alzheimer's disease. The useful compounds comprise gallic acid and its derivatives. The useful compositions also include ascorbic acid as an antioxidant.